Some of Toronto's players were understandably down after another disappointing playoff exit.

He made 22 starts and appeared in 80 games for the Raptors in 2016-17 and averaged 9.3 points, 3.3 assists and 0.8 steals, all career highs.

Ibaka, Raptors agree on $65 million, 3-year deal

It's good that Ibaka responded to these claims, even though he himself recognized that not everyone will see it.

In an era dominated by small ball, Ibaka is the kind of player that makes every team better as he is an elite defender that is not a detriment on the offensive side of the ball.

Meantime, the Raptors will now focus on re-signing their starting all-star point guard Kyle Lowry. Though at the time of this writing it seems like there are few options for Lowry outside Toronto who are considered contenders. An average of $21.66 million per year is a heck of a lot of money for a big man who doesn't move with almost the same explosiveness that he used to, neither possessing the same degree of shot-blocking tenacity or rebounding that he did during his earlier years in Oklahoma City. At the end of the season, he said his daughter liked Toronto though and he is close with his former Oklahoma City assistant coach Rex Kalamian, who remains on Dwane Casey's staff.